Winding-indicator.



A. AUNE.

WINDING INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 13. 1911.

Patented June 15, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THE NORRIS PETERS ca. PHOTD-LITHQ. WASHINGTON. D.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDERS AUNE, OF WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO WALTHAM WATCHCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

WINDING-INDICATOR.

Application filed July 13, 1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDERs AUNE, of lValtham, in the county of Middlesexand State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Winding-Indicators, of which the following is aspecification.

The present invention relates to indicators applicable to watches andother time pieces for indicating when the watch is wound up or run down,and also the degrees of winding up and running down.

In many of its features this invention is similar to the windingindicator shown in the patent to Olof Ohlson, No. 942,659, grantedDecember 7, 1909, and includes certain improvements over such indicator.

The object of these improvements is to maintain continued and positivemeshing between the members of the gearing which drive the indicator, toenable the movement to run and the winding operation to continue afterthe indicating member or pointer has reached the limits of its travel inopposite directions, respectively, without causing the driving gearframe to get out of mesh, and to cause the indicating member or pointerto adjust itself automatically at the zero position when the spring iscompletely wound up. The manner in which I accomplish this object isdescribed in the following specification, and illustrated in thedrawings forming a part thereof, which represent a watch movementcontaining a winding indicator embodying my invention.

In the drawings,Figure 1 represents a part of the pillar, plate of awatch movement having my improved winding indicator applied thereto.Fig. 2 is a sectional view represented as taken on the line 22 ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the position ofthe indicating mechanism when the main spring is fully wound up. Fig. 4is a fragmentary elevation showing details of the mechanism not shown inFigs. 1 and 3. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the dial showing the positionin which the visible part of the indicator is applied thereto.

In the following description I will refer to the time piece to which theindicator is applied as a watch, for the purpose of brevity, without,however, intending to limit the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 15, 1915. Serial No. 638,372.

application of the invention to any particular class or type of timepiece.

So much of the mechanism of the indicator as 1s similar to thecombination shown in the Ohlson patent above referred to, may bedescribed briefly as follows :1 represents the pillar plate of a watchmovement frame, 2, the dial which is detachably fastened to the pillarplate on the outer face thereof, 3, the barrel in which the main spr ngof the watch is contained and of WhlCh the periphery is provided withteeth, (or its equivalent, for the purposes of this invention, a windingwheel secured to the barrel), and 4 the main wheel which is driven bythe main spring and drives the entire watch movement.

5 is the indicating member which is preferably a pointer and is visibleon the outer face of the dial, being arranged to swing over a scale 6 onthe face of the dial which bears symbols indicating in connection withthe pointer whether the watch is wound up or run down, and the degree ofwinding up or running down.

The pointer is driven from the main Wheel when the watch is running by apinion 8, meshing with the main wheel and mounted loosely upon a stud 9which turns in a bushing or bearing 10 secured to the pillar plate. Aspring 11 between the head or a shoulder on the stud and the pinion,provides friction sufficient to turn the stud and the parts associatedwith and driven thereby.

12 represents a pinion secured upon the stud 9 which meshes with apinion 13 rotatably mounted upon the hub lat of a yoke lifter 15 whichin turn is adapted to swing about a pin or stud 16, carried by a yoke orswinging plate 17 which has a bearing on the bushing 10 and is adaptedto swing about the same. The pinion 13 is adapted to swing into and outof mesh with the teeth of the main spring barrel and is pressed towardthe latter by a spring tongue 18, bearing 011 an end of the stud 16, andmounted upon the pillar plate as described in the patent referred to.The yoke lifter 15 is longer than the radius of the pinion 13 and hasone or more teeth on its end adapted to engage the teeth of the barrel,when the latter recoils after the main spring is wound, and lift thepinion 13 out of engagement the latter.

with the barrel teeth by swinging the yoke 1 about the bushing 10 isdescribed in the patent referred to.

The arbor 7 which carries the pointer 5 above referred to is formed upona screw 19, held in a disk 20 and having a bearing in a bridge 21secured to the pillar plate. thus far described, the mechanism of thewinding indicator is substantially the same as in the patent referredto. The differences which constitute my present improvement consists ofthe fo1lowing:-The disk 20, which is provided with teeth extendingthrough a part only of its circumference, is driven not directly by thestud 9 or its equivalent as in the patent before mentioned, but byintermediate mechanism consisting of a pinion 22, a star wheel 23, and adisk 24, having a tooth or finger 25. Such disk is provided with a stem26 adapted to slip into a central bore in the stud 9, which is notchedand spread apart at its lower end, to make spring jaws 27 which pressagainst the walls of the bore which contain them and produce frictionwhich causes the disk to turn when the stud is turned. The ends of thesejaws extend past a shoulder 28 into an enlargement of the bore of thestud, whereby they are able to spread beyond such shoulder and hold thestem 26 and disk 2 1 firmly to the stud.

The star wheel has a number of projections 29 and notches 30, preferablyequal to the number of teeth of the pinion 22, in this case eight. Theouter ends of the projections 29 are concave and so curved as to fit thecircumference of the disk 24, so that the star wheel is prevented fromturning except when the tooth 25 causes it to turn. Recessesare'provided in the disk on each side of the tooth to admit the cornersof the projection when the star wheel turns.

its a result of the construction described, the star wheel and pinion 22t irn one tooth space for each revolution ofthe .disk 24, and as thegear ratio of the pinion 22 to the disk 20 is very small, the latter andthe pointer turn through a very minute angle. The ratio in fact is suchthat the extreme movement of the pointer is less than a semirotationwhereby the indicator scale can be placed upon the dial, close to thefigures of in the construction illustrated, the pointer makes itscomplete swing in 36 hours, and the scale 6 is accordingly provided withthat number of divisions between its extremes.

lVhen the pointer reaches either limit, the rotation of the disk andpinion is stopped by engagement of a tooth of the pinion, with theuntoothed rim of the disk at the end of the series of teeth on thelatter. The disk thus constitutes in effect a gear segmenthavingshoulders or abutments at its ends to in-' terlock with thedriving pinion 22 and prevent further movement without allowing thepinion to get out of mesh with the segment. This may be said to be themain object of my present invention.

As some watches will run more than 36 hours before stopping T haveprovided the friction between the disk at and the pinion 12 which drivesit in order to permit further running of the watch movement after thepointer has reached the position where it indicates running down of thewatch. This friction allows the stud 9 to slip around the stem 26without injuring any of the parts of the. movement. It also permitsslipping in winding up of the watch after the pointer has arrived at theZero position on the scale. In order to insure that the pointer willalways come to its zero position before the spring is completely woundup, I have made the gear ratio between the barrel and the pinion 12greater than that between the main wheel and the pinion 8, so that thestud 9 and finger 25 are turned more rapidly and farther in the windingup than in the running down of the watch. Then, when the pointer is atthe zero position, it stops by interlocking of the pinion 22 with theshoulder 32 at the end of the toothed segment and the mechanismcontinues to run, the stud 9 slipping around the friction jaws 27. Inthis way the pointer automatically adjusts itself to the zero positionwhen the main spring is fully wound whether the movement has continuedto runafter stoppage of the pointer at the run down position or not.

Owing to the fact that none of the members of the gearing, includingpinions 8 and 12, 13 and 12, disk24c and its tooth 25, star wheel 29,pinion 22, and segment 20, ever get out of mesh, the indicator is alwaysstarted properly when the winding up is commenced or when the watchcommences to run. There is never any possibility of a tooth or any ofthe members named striking another tooth improperly or failing to enterfreely the spaces between the teeth or projections with which itcooperates.

I claim-,

1. In a time piece the combination with a toothed winding wheel for themain spring and a movement wheel driven by the main spring, a rotatablymounted stud, a pinion frictionally engaged with said stud and in meshwith said movement wheel, a second pinion secured to said stud, a yokepivoted coaxially with said stud, a pinion carried by said yoke, andmeshing with the second named pinion, means for moving the third namedpinion into mesh with the winding wheel when the main spring is beingwound, and out of mesh with said winding wheel at all other times, adisk or wheel frictionally connected with said stud, a train of gearingincluding a segment driven by said disk and having stop shoulders ateach end of its line of teeth, whereby its movement in either directionis positively limited, and an indicator connected with and operated bysaid segment.

2. In a winding indicator for'time pieces a rotatably mounted stud, apinion frictionally engaged with said stud adapted to drive the same andto slip relatively thereto when resistance to rotation of the studbecomes excessive, a second pinion positively secured to the stud, atoothed disk having a shank or stem contained coaxially in said stud andbeing split to form spring jaws forming a Copies of this patent may beobtained for five cents each, by addressing the frictional connectionwith the stud, the first named pinion being driven by a movement wheelof the time piece, and a second named pinion being driven in theopposite direction by the Winding wheel of the time piece when the mainspring is being wound, and a train of gearing carrying an indicatorarranged to be driven by said toothed disk.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence of twoWitnesses.

ANDERS AUNE. Witnesses:

ARTHUR H. BROWN, P. W. PEZZETTI.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C."

